


Why He Stays

by ShamelessSterekObsession



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Love Confessions, M/M, Mates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-23
Updated: 2015-04-23
Packaged: 2018-03-25 08:28:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3803662
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShamelessSterekObsession/pseuds/ShamelessSterekObsession
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stiles can't figure out Derek Hale. It is pushing him over the edge with frustration. </p><p>Inspired by this Tumblr post - http://artofobsession.tumblr.com/post/54770248540/mesita-dannymahealanilikestocuddle-derek</p><p>Notice: I posted this on another account that I now deleted.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Why He Stays

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic.

     Stiles Stilinski is the type of person that needs to be in the know. If anything is going on around him, he makes it his mission to figure out what exactly it is. Like the time in eighth grade when he noticed his friend Danny, impossibly bubbly Danny, started to become really quiet. Let’s just say instead of asking Danny outright what was going, Stiles decided to become a detective. Following Danny around watching his every move. Weeks of this went by and no luck, all he saw was Danny spending more time alone. One day Danny’s best friend, Jackson, caught Stiles spying from behind a trash can. Called him a perving fag. When Stiles saw Danny’s face he just knew. Danny was gay. After that he made a point of being there for Danny. That’s all good and righteous but the real point is Stiles will go very far to figure things out. The extensive research (which he is really good at because when you are this curious, you can’t afford to be a google first-pager) he did to figure out what happened to Scott. In his opinion, he has enough research to make a case for the existence werewolves that the whole world would have to agree upon. Turns out he has a knack for figuring things out too. Makes him a valid member of the pack without actually being a werewolf. It helps that his best friend is the Alpha but no one can dispute that he is valuable asset. Except maybe Derek. Yeah Derek would definitely dispute this. He thinks Stiles is nothing but a liability. Always tries to make Stiles stay back when an attack takes place. Like Stiles would ever listen.

     Speaking of Derek, Stiles has an an itch. The itch he gets when he can’t figure something out. And that something is Derek.

     Derek Hale, previously an Alpha, now turned back to a Beta, twenty-seven years old (Stiles figured that one out after three years of knowing the guy, maybe broke some laws in the process), ridiculously good looking, has quite a full bank account (Stiles may have broken more laws for that one too) and, upon further illegal snooping, 4.0 gpa even after the fire. The thing Stiles couldn’t figure out is why Derek stuck around. His family home was bulldozed down, he could go to any college of his choosing and he has enough money to buy himself an apartment in every major city, seriously. Plus Beacon Hills has to be full of bad memories for him, what with the loss of all his family and all the supernatural stuff that creeps through. He has made it very clear that he is not apart of Scott’s pack, even though the majority of pack-related events take place in his apartment, so he has no pack obligations to be here. Yet he spends most of his time helping in the latest monster to plague the town or hanging out with the pack, but never really seems to enjoy any of their company. What is odder is that he is almost a decade older than everyone in the pack, that makes a huge difference when it comes to connecting to each other. The only two remaining members of his old pack, Isaac and Cora, have left Beacon Hills and to Stiles knowledge (he may have stole Derek’s phone and mail) have actively been trying to get him to leave and come live with them. Since he can’t infiltrate the post office and it seems Derek deletes his responses via text, he never got to hear Derek’s answer (Except that one time Cora tried to sugar-coat Peru and ask why he wouldn’t come visit and simply replied ‘You know why.’) .

     The whole dilemma was driving him up the wall because HE does not know why. He went through a whole phase of consulting various psychological resources to find if there was some deeper meaning as to why he stayed. At first he thought maybe Derek had some hero-complex like Scott, but on some occasions Derek has not come to the aid of Scott and his pack. Like that time a ghoul raised a bunch of hell while Stiles and his father were on a fishing trip and Scott called him, angry with Derek, because Derek said he was busy. Or all the times Scott went to check out a spot where some supernatural mystery happened and Derek decided to stay behind with Lydia and Stiles to do research. According to the psych-books, a hero-complex never shuts off and a person afflicted with such will jump at any and every opportunity to save someone.

     When he finally broke down and asked the opinion of the pack they all kinda laughed at his face. Saying he was really oblivious or some bullshit like that. Of course Stiles found this as an insult because he was very observant thank you very much.

     Yeah, so Stiles is sort of losing it. He has to know. Has to. On a night that he is particularly fet up with this mystery he decides fuck it, he was going to Derek’s loft to force an answer out of him. As if the thought of Derek sets off some sort of Bat signal, Stiles hears a tap on his window. Stiles is about to tell Scott this is no time for his latest Allison drama, but when Derek opens the window with a concerned look he is taken aback.

     “Stiles?”  

     Okay maybe that fire that was burning in his soul for an answer sorta went out the moment he saw Derek. All this stuff about Stiles being too curious for his own good is true but it is possible that his motivation behind wanting to know why Derek sticks around comes from his crazy crush on the dude. Like sure Derek is a complete grump and threatens his life on a daily basis but when someone saves your life more times than you can count and has a face like Derek’s, it’s hard not to fall. Right now, in this moment, Stiles freezes like he always does in Derek’s presences.

     “Is everything okay?” Derek’s concern isn’t unusual, but is almost always followed by some threat.

     “Um… yeah, why wouldn’t they be?” Derek’s face changed from concerned to something between anger and frustration. He didn’t look satisfied with that answer.

     “Stiles, how long will it take you to remember that I can hear when you lie.”

     “I am not lying. Everything is fine.” Stiles protests. The confrontation he wanted wasn’t going to happen now, Stiles’ panic took over already. Derek growled at this response.

     “Stiles, something is wrong. I can tell.” And now why does Derek always have to say Stiles’ name like that. Like he is a kid who can’t understand that you aren’t suppose to stick a fork in an electrical outlet.

     “Derek,” Stiles mocked. “Nothing is wrong, now can you please leave my room, in fact, why don’t you just leave Beacon while you are at it. It’s not like there is anything keeping you here.” Derek didn’t make any movement towards the window. He just looked down like he was thinking over what was just said.

     He looked back up after a moment and made direct eye contact with Stiles. Stiles twitched uneasily at times like these. He felt like Derek could read his mind when he looked at him like that. “What did you mean by that?” Derek asked simply, like Stiles didn’t just say something that would make any other person feel hurt.   

     “Nothing, just want you to leave.” Derek half smiled, half frowned, if that is even possible. “You are lying. What did you mean by it?”

     Stiles felt like Derek threw a net over him. He was trapped. He sighed and sat back on his bed. “You don’t make sense.” When Derek didn’t respond to that, he took it as a cue to continue. “ I don’t understand why you stay here.” Derek look surprised. Again remained silent like he was expecting more of an explanation.

     “Derek, you could leave here whenever you wanted to. Go finish college, meet someone, get married, forget about this town and all the trouble it’s caused you. But you are here, helping a pack of teenagers and spending all your time fighting whatever supernatural creature that threatens Beacon Hills. I know Cora and Isaac have asked you to come with them and I know you don’t feel some sense of duty to be here. So why stay?” Derek’s usual stony face turned soft. “You are wrong.”

     “Wrong about what?” Stiles was feeling the vulnerability in the room, it was coming off both of them.

     “I stay because it is my duty to stay. I must protect.” There was definite strain in derek’s voice and his wording. Like he was holding back some detail. Stiles frustration from before rose back out of him. “The fuck you protect! Where were you when Scott called for help on the ghoul? Or how about when he went to check out that electric grid or the post office? If you feel a duty then why didn’t you help then?”

     Derek seemed like he might take off at this outburst but instead he closed his eyes and breathed slowly out his mouth. “Where were you?” he ask Stiles.

     “What?” Stiles was confused. What did that have to do with anything.

     “Where were you when Scott was fighting ghoul or checking the interference at the electric grid or keeping a look out at the post office?” Derek was projecting that vulnerability again. For second Stiles questioned why he always felt what Derek was feeling but the anger of being accused of not helping got to him.

     “Excuse me but unfortunately the weak useless human was helping out the only way I know how. I was trying to figure out what caused all the trouble.” Stiles was seeing red, didn’t even realize he got up from the bed and was in Derek’s face. Derek looked dejected.

     “You aren’t useless.” Derek said this so softly that Stiles probably wouldn’t have heard it if he wasn’t right in front of Derek, inches away. “Where were you when the ghoul attacked?” Stiles heard from the tone in Derek’s voice, he wasn’t accusing him of anything.

     “I was on a fishing trip with my dad. We went to this secret lake it is up north right off the-” “94, a ten miles up a nameless dirt road.” Derek finished for him.

     “How did you… that is a secret spot, only my family knows of it. My grand father left the land to us. How did you know where it was?” Derek was smiling, hopeful almost.

     “Ask me again where I was when the ghoul attack.” Derek’s voice cracked. He was nervous, Stiles could feel it in his bones. “Derek, where were you when the ghoul attack?”

     “In the forest, up north, just off the 94 by this lake, hidden away. Now ask me where I was when Scott went to investigate.” Stiles’ heart was hammering. Why was Derek at the lake? How did he know where Stiles was? He swallowed. “Derek, where were you when-”

     “I was sitting over there,” He was pointing to Stiles’ computer chair. “Keeping watch.”

     “Keeping watch?” Stiles was confused. So confused.

     “Stiles ask me what you were on your way to ask me before I came through the window.” Derek was looking from Stiles’ eyes to his lips, he looked so hopeful yet so scared.

     “Why do you stay?” Stiles shaked out. He was having trouble breathing.

     “You.” Derek whispered. Before Stiles could ask what he meant by that Derek whipped out, “Why do you care? What does it matter to you why I stay?” Stiles froze. He felt cornered once again. Derek giving him that look, the look like he already knew what Stiles was going to say but was hopeful that he would just say it already. He panicked

     “I don’t know.” He lied. Derek let out a frustrated breath.

     “Stiles, tell me why you want to know why I stay.” Derek pleaded but there was no demand behind it.

     “I.. I don’t know.” Stiles didn’t know how to word it. “I wanted to know why you stayed. I wanted to know if it was a good reason. Like good enough reason for you to always stay around. I wanted to know if you were going to leave. Cause I don’t want you to leave. Not ever. I don’t want you to leave because-” Before Stiles could confess his crush on Derek, his mouth was covered by Derek’s. He was shocked but the kiss turned to something so natural, so instinctive that it brought tears to Stiles eyes. There was so much emotion behind the kiss, on both sides. Stiles realized through this kiss that all that pining and years of feelings he felt towards Derek was returned. They broke and Stiles cursed himself for the almost sob that escaped from the back of his throat. For three years now, Stiles has know that the one person he wants most and would feel incomplete without has little to no interest in him. It was a burden and for it to be lifted along with the hope the kiss gave him, everything was too much. He cried into Derek’s shoulder. Derek held him. When he brought himself together he pulled back and looked at Derek. He was waiting for Derek to say something. Explain everything. Give him all the answers. But instead Derek walked past Stiles and got into the bed. He motion Stiles over and Stiles climbed in with him. They wrapped themselves up in each other and fell asleep.

* * *

     Stiles woke up to Derek running his hand through his hair and staring right back at Stiles. Before Stiles could say a word Derek spoke. “We are mates.” He let that sink in for a moment. “I have known since I first met you. I didn’t respond right. I got angry. Angry because after Laura, I accepted that I lost everything but then the universe gave me you and I… I wasn’t ready and I didn’t think you were ready so I kept my distance. Or as much distance as my wolf would give me. And my anger grew when I learned about Lydia and how much of a child you seemed because that meant time. Time waiting for you to get over your crush and become a person capable of making a commitment like this.  And I know I was an ass and that I scared you but I was angry, angry at the situation and I wanted you to be scared because I knew you felt it too. I knew you were attracted to me. So I gave you reasons to not be. But then after, after Malia I thought, I thought maybe we wouldn’t… that you didn’t feel the way I feel for you. So I tried to move on for a moment but I couldn’t and my wolf has been going crazy everyday I don’t.. that we aren’t together. So yeah last night I was just outside your room. Keeping watch. Being near you. And yes I followed you to the lake and yes anytime something dangerous happens my first instinct is to be near you. But I know now. I know what this is and I know I haven’t let you say anything but I just.. know.” Derek smiled. Like a real smile. The first smile that Stiles ever saw reach his eyes.

    Stiles leaned forward and they kissed and Stiles just knew. He just knew that this is why he felt the way he felt for Derek. He didn’t say a word. He didn’t need to and for once, he wasn’t questioning anything. And so the kiss deepened and they were consumed in each other. Their connection was sealed and strengthened. When they both finished with Stiles straddling Derek. Landing on top of him, breathing hard. Stiles pulled back, kissed Derek once and said “I love you.” And they fell back asleep tangled up and sticky but in complete bliss and love.

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think.


End file.
